Museums say they serve the public—but do their audiences reflect that? This post explores new research on museum relevance, accessibility, and the not-so-innovative “innovations” in audience development.
The Generosity Report by Neon One highlights donor behavior, emphasizing that maintaining donor relationships increases giving. Collaborating with other nonprofits enhances overall donations, while increased donor engagement, through events and communication, correlates with higher contributions.
Donor-advised funds are growing fast—and so are the gifts that come with them. This post breaks down new data from Chariot and what it means for your fundraising strategy.
What do 22,000 audience members really think about DEI in the arts? This post unpacks new research from WolfBrown—and what it means for values, programming, and who shows up.
This week is a Research Roundup, where I’ll write posts about recent research I’ve read. Today is an article about Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the transition to and out of leadership of Nataki Garrett.
I recommend reading Philanthropy in America by Oliver Zunz to understand the recent history of fundraising in the United States.
Cluttered language makes fundraising harder. Donors need to know what the problem you’re solving is, and how you intend to do it. That’s it.
Attending the 2025 Artists Thrive Summit renewed my focus on building from strength, not scarcity. Highlights included inspiring talks by Ruki Neuhold-Ravijumar and GK Callahan, and connecting with peers supporting arts careers. Grateful to the Tremaine Foundation for making this accessible and equitable through generous support and presenter compensation.
I’m in St. Paul, Minnesota for the 2024 Visitor Studies Association conference. It’s a conference for visitor studies professionals from all kinds of museums (science, children’s, art, history, zoos), mostly people who work on in-house evaluation teams, though there are consultants and I met some marketing folks, too. I sat in three (!) sessions today … Continue reading Day 1 of Visitor Studies Association Conference
The Audience Agency is an audience research agency in the United Kingdom that does incredible work with psychographics of audiences of arts and culture. They’re a nonprofit organization themselves that surveys a huge number of audiences and analyzes ticketing data directly from arts organizations through their Cultural Participation Monitor longitudinal study. They’re on my mind … Continue reading The Audience Agency: UK Resource
Hannah Grannemann 